Wednesday, December 13, 2017 — DT 28525

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 28525
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 28525]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved

Introduction

Today Jay puts us through a moderate workout, one near the lower end of the three-star range.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-&lit.) clues. All-in-one (&lit.) clues and cryptic definitions are marked with a dotted underline. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   A day off? Yes and no! (6)

... yes, it is a day off (work), but not a day on which one is (feeling) off.

Sickie^[5] is an informal British term for a day taken as sick leave when one is not actually ill^* ⇒ she took a sickie only last week and enjoyed a morning in bed.

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^* on this point, two other British dictionaries are less prescriptive than Oxford

• Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: sickie^[2] (originally Australian and New Zealand) a day's sick leave, often without the person actually being ill
• Collins English Dictionary: sickie^[10] a day of sick leave from work, whether for genuine sickness or not

Off (adjective) is an informal British term meaning unwell ⇒ I felt decidedly off.

Here and There

Sickie[5] is an informal British term for a day taken as sick leave when one is not actually ill* ⇒ she took a sickie only last week and enjoyed a morning in bed. * on this point, two other British dictionaries are less prescriptive than Oxford Chambers 21st Century Dictionary: sickie[2] (originally Australian and New Zealand) a day's sick leave, often without the person actually being ill Collins English Dictionary: sickie[10] a day of sick leave from work, whether for genuine sickness or not In North America, sickie[12] is slang for a sick person, especially one who is emotionally disturbed, sadistic, etc.

4a   Model // European member of parliament left in gallery (8)

"gallery" = TATE (show explanation )

The Tate Gallery^[5] (commonly known simply as the Tate) is a national museum of art in London, England founded in 1897 by the sugar manufacturer Sir Henry Tate (1819–1899) to house his collection of modern British paintings, as a nucleus for a permanent national collection of modern art. It was renamed Tate Britain in 2000, when the new Tate Modern gallery opened. [I would surmise that by that time the original collection could no longer be considered "modern".]

hide explanation

The politician in question is a European MP and not (at least for purposes of the wordplay) a Member of the European Parliament (MEP^[5]).

The clue parses as {E (European; abbrev.) + MP (member of parliament; abbrev.) + L (left; abbrev.)} contained in (in) TATE (gallery).

9a   Bob /is/ short, and scarcely lacking heart (6)

Bob^[3] means to curtsy or bow.

10a   Judgment /of/ relations enveloped in obsession (8)

12a   A new editor's // rock (8)

13a   Disappear -- // like a commercial vehicle? (6)

A double definition — the second whimsical.

15a   Like-minded individual, // loving wine and whisky, say (7,6)

A kindred spirit^[5] is a person whose interests or attitudes are similar to one's own.

The term kindred spirits always evokes for me an image of Anne Shirley and Diana Barry.

18a   Promote boss's // best products? (6,7)

20a   Bolt wears little // sleeveless tunic (6)

A tabard^[2] is a short loose sleeveless jacket or tunic, worn especially by a knight over his armour or, with the arms of the king or queen on the front, by a herald.

Scratching the Surface
Usain Bolt[5] is a  Jamaican athlete. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing he won gold medals in the 100 metre and 200 metre races, setting a new world record time for each. He defended his Olympic titles in 2012 and 2016, winning gold in the 100 metre and 200 metre races both years, and becoming the first athlete to win gold in the 100 metre and 200 metre races three times.

22a   Local // area parasite must drink meths regularly (8)

Local^[5] is an informal British term for a pub convenient to a person’s home ⇒ a pint in the local.

Alehouse^[5] is a dated term for an inn^[5] [in the sense of a pub, typically one in the country, in some cases providing accommodation] or public house^[5] [(British) formal term for pub].

Scratching the Surface
Meths[5] is an informal British term for methylated spirit*. * Methylated spirit[5] (also methylated spirits) is alcohol for general use that has been made unfit for drinking by the addition of about 10 per cent methanol and typically also some pyridine and a violet dye.

24a   Set off alongside dense // woods (8)

25a   Represents // good person joining staff in recession (6)

Enact^[5] means to act out (a role or play) on stage ⇒ Mystery Plays were staged and enacted by members of the guilds.

26a   Cutting // last of remarks before trial (8)

27a   Comments /from/ assistants besieging head of security (6)

Down

1d   Community // also developed outside Channel Islands (6)

The Channel Islands^[5] (abbreviation CI^[5]) are a group of islands in the English Channel off the northwestern coast of France, of which the largest are Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney. Formerly part of the dukedom of Normandy, they have owed allegiance to England since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and are now classed as Crown dependencies.

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As synonyms for social, Collins English Thesaurus lists communal, community, and collective.

2d   Temporary manager/'s/ oddly keen in frantic rat race (9)

3d   Cool African party breaking into safe with poorer // person providing cover (9,6)

The African National Congress^[5] (abbreviation ANC) is a South African political party and black nationalist organization. Having been banned by the South African government 1960–90, the ANC was victorious in the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 and its leader Nelson Mandela became the country’s President.

Here and There

When it comes to insurance protection, while the same verb form is used in Britain and North America, we use a different form of the noun on this side of the pond. As a verb, cover[5] means to protect against a liability, loss, or accident involving financial consequences ⇒ your contents are now covered against accidental loss or damage in transit. However, in the UK, the word cover[5] is used as a noun to denote protection by insurance against a liability, loss, or accident ⇒ your policy provides cover against damage by subsidence. This is equivalent to the North American term coverage[5] meaning the amount of protection given by an insurance policy ⇒ your policy provides coverage against damage by subsidence.

5d   Ring back? (4)

6d   Tipsy UK penpal pinches // food found in tins (9,6)

7d   A politician once needing independent // defence in law (5)

"independent" = I (show explanation )

I^[1] is the abbreviation for independent, in all likelihood in the context of a politician with no party affiliation.

hide explanation

If Liberals are not extinct in the UK, they are certainly high up on the endangered species list.

The Liberal Party^[5] (abbreviation Lib.^[5] or L^[2])^* in Britain emerged in the 1860s from the old Whig Party and until the First World War was one of the two major parties in Britain. In 1988 the party regrouped with elements of the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, now known as the Liberal Democrats. However, a small Liberal Party still exists although it has no representation in the UK Parliament, no Members of the European Parliament (MEP), no members of the Scottish Parliament, nor any members of the National Assembly for Wales.^[7]

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^* Although Lib.^[5] may be the more common abbreviation for the Liberal Party in Britain — likely to distinguish it from the the Labour Party^[5] (abbreviation Lab.^[5]) — Chambers 21st Century Dictionary indicates that L^[2] may also be used.

8d   Ingredient of meringue, // for example, with weight adjusted (3,5)

Meringue^[5] is an item of sweet food made from a mixture of egg whites and sugar baked until crisp.

11d   Smile in confusion about sport /and/ poor governance (7)

"sport" = RU (show explanation )

Rugby union^[10] (abbreviation RU^[5]) is a form of rugby football played between teams of 15 players (in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen).

 Rugby union^[7] is the national sport in New Zealand, Wales, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Madagascar.

hide explanation

14d   In the best case, // island truly needs to replace leader with daughter (7)

16d   Provided support, /but surly/ about cutting grass (9)

17d   Reclaim it at establishment admitting // copies (8)

19d   Safest going out /for/ meals? (6)

21d   Green stuff /produced in/ tidal inlets, reportedly (5)

Baize^[5] is a coarse, typically green woollen material resembling felt, used for covering billiard and card tables.

23d   Floor // enthusiasts given a lift (4)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)
^[12] - CollinsDictionary.com (Webster’s New World College Dictionary)
^[13] - MacmillanDictionary.com (Macmillan Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon